Before I begin this chapter, I have something I need to say. First, I want you all to know that The Eye of Polyphemus is almost over, this being the second to last chapter. Second, I want to let you know that Part II is going to be a long time in the making. I doubt that any chapters will be posted before June. Why? Well, there are two reasons. One is that I want to get it written at least three-quarters of the way before I start posting, so that I don't run into any kinks half-way through. (You don't even want to know how many potential disasters I had to fix with this story!) The other reason is that there are about two hundred short story ideas flitting around in my head that absolutely refuse to be ignored, and I'm afraid that if I don't start working on them posthaste, they will sick their Evil Vampire Plot Bunnies of Doom on me, and we don't want that. ^_^
In other news, there have been a total of zero correct guesses for my Statue Challenge. So I have a few hints for you. 1) The statue is called Life. 2) My bio. 3) I have borrowed many themes from the same place.
OK, no more freebees! You're on your own now! I'll post the answer at the end of next chapter.
Now, on with the story!
The room was empty. Rogue didn't understand it; this was supposed to be the place that held the key to her control, but there was nothing there. Maybe that was because her power couldn't be controlled. No, that couldn't be it. She pushed the thought out of her mind. If that prep Jean could find a way to control her power, than so could she.
"Well?" Dr. Walker asked.
Rather than answer, Rogue surveyed the room more carefully, to see if maybe she had missed something. All she could see was black: black floor tiles, black walls, black ceiling. The green light from her torch glinted off something on the far wall. She crossed the room and knelt down to peer at it.
Carved into the wall, about waist high, were words written in gold.
"Rogue? You there?" The Doctor's voice had an edge of worry to it.
"Ah'm here. The room's empty, but it's got writing on the wall."
"What does it say?"
" 'The power of absorption is integrated with the soul of the bearer, and as such cannot be—' "
"Um, Rogue?"
"Yeah?"
"You're not speaking English."
"Yes, Ah am."
"Now you are. But you weren't just a minute ago."
"That's crazy."
"And yet, I have no clue what you said."
"Ah said, 'The power of absorption is—' "
"Again, I have no idea what you're saying, and I'm fluent in twice as many languages as you, if not more."
"Ah don't understand. It sounded like English to me. And the words look like English."
She brought the torch closer to the wall, studying the words. Her finger traced the gold lines. With a start, Rogue realized that the characters weren't normal letters. She blinked, thinking it must have been a trick of the light. When she looked again, the strange characters were still there.
She read them over in her mind, this time without translating to English. It seemed familiar. She read the first few words aloud, to see if she could recognize it.
"Se caren nur ferale…" It was the language of the ghosts. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Once again, not English," Dr. Walker said, obviously thinking Rogue had been talking to her.
"Ah know. Ah mean, this time Ah knew Ah wasn't speaking English. Fer some reason Ah was translatin' the words in my mind automatically, even though Ah was sayin' them in…er…whatever language this is. But now that Ah realize Ah was doin' it, maybe Ah can read it in English fer real this time."
"Wait, you have no idea what language this is, but you can read it? How does that work?"
"You're the college graduate, you tell me."
"Now there's no need to get snippy. So what does this thing say?"
Rogue took a deep breath, and concentrated on keeping her words English.
" 'The power of absorption is integrated with the soul of the bearer, and as such cannot be removed.' English?"
"English," the Doctor confirmed.
" 'Instead, the bearer must either learn to control the gift, or surrender to a life of solitude. Control cannot be learned, as no one can teach it. Rather, it must be discovered by the bearer of her own accord. Only when she has learned to reign in her gift will she be free from its prison.' That's all it says."
"Not much to go on, is it? Are you sure there isn't any more, maybe on another wall?"
Rogue surveyed the small room. "Nothing. Ah don't think Ah'm going ta find anythin' else here, either."
"Alright. I'm going to bring you out of the trance. Close your eyes, and focus on your breathing again. I'm going to count back from ten, and when I say zero, you will wake up."
Rogue closed her eyes and focused her breathing like she had when they first started. She felt herself growing slightly more aware with every number the Doctor said.
"Two…one…zero."
Rogue opened her eyes; she was lying on the couch in Dr. Walker's office. She sat up dejectedly. "Well that was a giant waste of time."
"I'm sorry we couldn't find out more. But from what you read, it sounded like there is a solution; it's just harder than we thought."
"Yeah, Ah know. Ah'm gonna go see if I can catch Kurt and Kitty in the cafeteria." She made a face. "That's way too much alliteration."
Dr, Walker smiled. "Goodbye, Rogue."
"Bye, Doc."
Rogue made her way through the maze of halls that was the CIA headquarters, eventually arriving at the cafeteria. If she knew Kurt—and she was fairly sure she did—then he'd be at the nearest Taco Bell, stuffing is face with bean burritos and nachos. She walked around the edge of the tables, heading for the Taco Bell.
The cafeteria was set up much like the food court at the mall. There were dozens of small restaurants lining the walls, and then rows of tables set up in the middle. Taco Bell was on the far side of the court.
And sitting at the closest table to the line were Kurt and Kitty. Kurt had a tray piled high with every kind of taco in existence, as well as a huge bowl of nachos. Kitty was watching him in disgust while daintily eating a salad. Rogue sat down next to them.
"Oh, hey Rogue," Kitty said.
Kurt just waved, his mouth to full to allow for conversation.
"Like, where have you been?"
"Oh, here and there. Ah had some things ta take care of."
Kurt swallowed. "Vhat kind of things?"
"Things that you aren't authorized to know about."
"Phooey."
Rogue glanced down at her watch. It was 11:45. "Crap!"
"What?"
"We gotta get home. Now."
Kurt looked down at his food. "But I'm not—"
"You can take it with you, ya moron." Rogue said, pulling both him and Kitty out of their seats.
"Like, what's the big hurry?"
Rogue showed her her watch.
"Oh."
"Kurt, would you mind?"
"My pleasure." He put one hand on Rogue, and wrapped his tale around Kitty's wrist. He used his other hand to hold onto his food tray.
BAMF!
There was a puff of foul-smelling smoke, and they were in Rogue and Kitty's dark room. Thankfully the door was closed.
"I figured zis vould be ze safest place," he whispered. Rogue nodded, then remembered that it was probably too dark for him to see.
"Good call," she whispered.
"Ouch!"
Rogue turned toward Kitty's voice.
"I'm okay," she said. "I just totally kicked the dresser, is all. I'm—ow! Where is that stupid light…Oh here it is."
There was a faint click, and the lamp on Kitty's bed table came on. The valley girl was standing next to it, rubbing her shin.
"You okay?" Rogue asked.
"Yeah. But remind me to install one of those glow-in-the-dark lightswitches."
"Do you zink ve're going to get in trouble?" Kurt asked. Kitty shrugged.
"Probably. Mr. Logan won't be happy that we broke curfew."
"Yeah, and Ah'm already in deep thanks tah the swamp rat's lack of driving skills. Hey, not on my bed!"
Kurt grinned at her from the bed, where he was eating his food.
"Off! Now!"
"Um…Ich spreche keine Englisch?" ('I don't speak English.' And for those of you who know German, please forgive my pitiful grammar ^_-)
"Meinst du, dass ich bin dof?" ('Do you think I'm dumb?' Once again, please forgive all errors!)
"Ack! Du sprechst Deutsch?" ('You speak German?')
"Ja." (I think you can guess that one on your own.)
Kitty looked at them, frowning. "Would it kill you to use English?"
"Off the bed, Fuzzy. Now." Rogue gave him a low-powered glare.
"But it's comfortable…"
"Don't make me pull rank on you."
"All right, all right." Kurt stood, and started walking to Kitty's bed.
"Like, don't even try it."
"Zen vere can I sit?"
They both pointed towards his room.
"Zat's no fun."
"'Night, Kurt."
"'Night." He 'ported out of the room. The girls quickly changed into their nightgowns and crawled into bed.
Rogue wasn't all that tired, however. She was too busy being disappointed to be tired. All that time in subconscious, listening to the screams of those she had absorbed, had been for naught. Her power was still as uncontrollable as always. It was beginning to look hopeless.
Rather than lie awake for several hours, she decided to read. She turned on the light and grabbed her book, Wizard's First Rule. She flipped to the page she had marked, and began to read.
Toffalar's knife came up, hitting her right arm, deflecting off the bone.
Shock and pain ignited her rage. Rage at her own stupidity. She did not miss the opening a second time. Her left hand came up and caught Toffalar by the throat. She felt her grip shut off his air for an instant. She needed only to touch him; grabbing him by the throat was a reflex of her rage, not her power.
Though there were terrified screams and shouts coming from people all around, and the horrifying wails from the shadows Richard was destroying wholesale, her mind went suddenly quiet, calm. There was no sound in her head. Only silence. The silence of what she was going to do.
In the calm spark of an instant that to her twisted for an eternity, she saw the look of fear in Toffalar's eyes, the realization of his fate. She saw in his eyes his railing against that end, felt his muscles beginning to tense, to fight her, his hands starting the ever so slow, hopeless journey to her grip at his throat.
But he had no chance, not the slightest glimmer. She was in control now. Time was hers. He was hers. She felt no pity. No remorse. Only deadly calm.
As she had done countless times before, in her calm, the Mother Confessor relaxed her restraint. Released at last, her power slammed into Toffalar's body.
Rogue froze. She reread the last few paragraphs a dozen times, to be sure that she had them right. Her hands started to shake.
Restraint. That was what the writing meant—restraint. It wasn't about some mental switch that could turn her power on and off like a light. There was no "off" for her power. Her only option was to reign it in, to restrain it. Not stop it. Only hold it back.
She closed her eyes, focusing on her power. She could feel it inside her, active, surging, waiting for the chance to attack. Labourously she began tugging it inward, away from the surface. It felt like trying to use a muscle she never knew she had. Her power fought against her; it didn't want to be subdued. She gritted her teeth, and pulled harder.
Her body ached. She felt like she was in the middle of the hardest workout she'd ever had. Her head was pounding from the mental exertion.
Rogue gripped at her sheets; sweat dotted her forehead. Her power writhed in her grasp. It had never felt so real before. It was like a separate entity living inside her. It bucked and twisted, struggling to escape her. She tightened her grip, and pulled with everything she had.
Her power made one last, mighty surge forward. It lunged away, dragging her with it. Searing pain swept through her. She screamed in a mix of agony and rage.
This was her body, her mind. She was in control, not her power.
She heaved with a strength that would have amazed her, had she been in a state to be amazed. Ever so slowly, she dragged her power away from the surface, away from where it could do harm. She took it back into herself, as far as she could go, and held it there. It struggled against her. This was not where it wanted to be. Rogue tightened her grip. This was where it would stay.
Slowly, her power stopped fighting. She did not relax her grip.
Rogue opened her eyes, blinking against the light. The entire team was assembled around her bed, their faces lined with worry. They must have heard her scream. She looked around at them, still keeping her mental grip on her power.
"Rogue," Xavier began from his spot next to her bed, "are you all right."
She nodded. Her fists clung to the sheets as tightly as her mind clung to her power. She released the sheets.
"What happened?" Xavier asked.
"Ah think Ah figured it out," Rogue said. Her voice was strained with the effort of keeping her power under control.
"Figured what out?"
"Control."
His eyes widened.
"Ah'm not sure, but…Ah think Ah've done it."
Wordlessly Logan stepped forward, holding out a bare hand. Rogue reached out slowly, touching him with her bare skin, bracing for the rush of memories.
Her power twisted against her, albeit not as powerfully as before. She kept it back.
After thirty seconds had passed without Logan feinting, Rogue knew that she had it right. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Ah can touch."
Without warning she threw her arms around Logan, hugging him feircely. He returned it in kind.
"It's a miracle," Kitty whispered.
Rogue fought to keep from crying into Logan's shoulder. When they finally separated both were grinning like mad. Kurt slipped up next to her, gently touching her cheek with a finger. When nothing happened, he gave her a one-armed hug.
"How is this possible?" Ororo asked. "You worked with the Professor for months, and never came close to finding your mental switch. How on earth did you manage it on your own?"
"Ah didn't."
Xavier lifted an eyebrow. "Would you mind elaborating?"
Rogue laughed. It felt good to laugh. "Ah'll explain in the morning. Fer now, Ah just want ta go ta sleep."
"All right," Xavier said, wheeling away from the bed. "But you are going to tell us everything, first thing in the morning…including why you were late getting home."
"So you, like, noticed?" Kitty asked. He nodded. "We in trouble?"
"I'll decide in the morning. Goodnight, ladies."
Everyone filed out of the room. Gambit hung behind, shutting the door when the last person left. He leaned his back against the door, staring at Rogue, a sly look on his face.
"Whattaya want, swamp rat?" she asked.
He glanced pointedly at Kitty.
"What? Hey, this is my room too, you know!" He continued to stare at her until she finally gave up, throwing her arms in the air. "Like, whatever. I'm not tired anyway. Geez." She continued muttering as she left. Gambit smiled, moving over to sit on the foot of Rogue's bed.
"Well?" she asked.
"You can touch."
"Yeah."
"So, de Gambit was wonderin'…"
Her eyes narrowed. "Wonderin' what, exactly?"
"De Gambit was wonderin' if maybe he could get a goodnight kiss?"
Rogue cocked her head thoughtfully. "Ah don't know…what's he done to deserve a kiss?"
"Well, he did spend all day t'inkin' about you, chere." He moved a little closer.
"Is that so?"
He nodded solemnly. "It 'bout drove him crazy, too. Ev'ry time he closed his eyes, all he could see was your beautiful face."
Rogue blushed slightly. Her breath caught when he reached out to stroke her cheek gently. Her power twisted again, but she held it firmly. Butterflies erupted in her stomach. She held his hand to her face, savoring the feeling of skin-to-skin contact. Her eyes closed, and a few tears leaked out.
"Oh, God," she whispered, "please don't let this be a dream."
"It's not a dream, chere." He wiped her tears away with his thumb. She opened her eyes to stare at him in wonder.
"Ah can touch." She loved they way the words sounded. She loved them even more now that she didn't have to add the word "wish" like before. Kitty had been right; it was a miracle.
She ran her fingers over Gambit's chin, feeling his stubble. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world, like being high on the most powerful drug in existence.
"So, about dat kiss…"
Rogue grinned. "Ah guess Ah could give—"
His lips pressed against hers suddenly. She froze for a moment, half terrified that she would lose her grip and her power would surface again. The way he held her, however, quickly made her fears dissolve, and she kissed him back.
She didn't want the kiss to end. A part of her was still convinced that she had fallen asleep, and that this was all a dream. If they stopped kissing, then she would eventually wake up and realize the truth.
It had to end, though. Gambit pulled away, looking slightly amazed, and a little disoriented.
"Wow," she breathed.
"You know, dey say dat once you go Gambit, you never go back."
She laughed, turning to glance at the clock. It was almost one. "You should go. Kitty probably wants to go back to sleep."
"And what do you want?"
"Ah can touch. What else is there?"
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her, holding her to him. She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Her own heart raced, and she practically wept with joy. She could touch. Never again would her life be dictated by her power. Never again would it define who she was. She was no longer a slave to her skin. She was free.
For the first time since she'd learned she was a mutant, Rogue was free.
She had no idea how long they sat on her bed in a silent embrace, marveling at the miracle that had just taken place. In truth, she really didn't care. They could stay this way for all eternity as far as she was concerned.
Rogue's thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash downstairs, followed by people shouting. Rogue recognized Logan's voice. The others she had never heard before.
She and Gambit exchanged glances before hurrying out the door to see what was wrong. Rogue skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs. Below her she could see Logan standing with his claws extended and at the ready. Kitty was standing a little ways behind him. They were watching three people—a girl around Rogue's age, and to men who were obviously twins. All three looked terrified. One of the blond-haired guys had his hands out, and was obviously trying to talk Logan down. Rogue rushed down the stairs, slowing as she came up behind Logan. It would not do any good to surprise him while he was in this state.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Intruders," he growled. There was a puff of smoke, and Kurt, Scott, and Jean appeared next to Kitty. The men jumped, and the girl backed away a pace.
The one who had been trying to talk to Logan before turned to face Rogue, but kept a wary eye on the six-inch claws.
"We aren't here to cause trouble. We just need to talk."
The elevator opened behind them, and Hank and Ororo walked out, followed by Xavier.
"What is this all about?" Xavier asked calmly, as if having strangers appear in his living room in the middle of the night was a common occurance.
"You're the X-Men, right?" the man asked. Xavier nodded.
"And you are?"
"My name's Kevin. This is my brother, Dan, and that's Jennsen. We need your help."
Xavier nodded. "Of course. Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to the couch. By now the entire mansion had turned out to investigate. He sent the younger kids away with a quick telepathic message. They slowly turned and left, grumbling loudly.
Those that were left took various seats around the room. Logan was the only one who refused to stand. Rogue couldn't blame him. It was rare for one person to get into the mansion undetected, but three people? That was practically unheard of.
Xavier didn't seem to be the least bit bothered, however. Rogue guessed that he had already done a quick a telepathic scan of the trio, and was satisfied that they meant no harm.
"My name is Professor Charles Xavier," he began once everyone was settled. "I lead the X-Men."
One of the twins—Rogue wasn't sure which—began talking very rapidly. "Professor, we need your help. There are these huge men after us—well, actually they're after her, but now that they've seen us together they're probably after us too…"
His brother took up the thread of the argument. "…And these guys are excellent fighters. It's like nothing can hurt them. We saw them jump from the second floor of the mall…"
"…And land on their feet like cats! They'll do whatever it takes to get Jenn…"
"But we can't let them get her, I mean, she's our friend. And her people need her to stop this evil emperor dude…"
"…Which she can't do if these guys kill her—"
Xavier cut them off with a gesture. Rogue's neck hurt from looking back and forth between them as they talked.
"Calm down," said Xavier. "There's no need to rush; you are perfectly safe here."
"No, we arren't," the girl, Jennsen, whispered. Her accent reminded Rogue of the way the ghosts in her dream had talked. "No place is safe from ze Shirran. None."
"Well I don't know who these Shiran are, but I can assure you that no one will harm you while you are under my roof."
Jennsen did not look convinced. She glanced at Logan. He was leaving against the wall almost lazily, claws retracted. Rogue knew it was an act; he was as alert now as he had been when she'd seen him preparing to fight the brothers.
"You may zink you arre safe, and zat your soldiers can withstand any threat. I prray to ze Savior zat you are rright."
The Savior? Rogue remembered the ghosts saying that she was a savior. Her skin prickled, and she could feel the fine hairs on her neck stand on end.
"Who are the Shiran?" Ororo asked.
Jennsen began telling them the story of her homeland, Ben-Tari, a world that existed in another dimension. She told of a great tyrant coming to power. "He united nearly all ze lands under his rrule. His name is Emperor L'Kal."
Rogue fought to keep her surprise to herself. The last line of the prophesy played through her mind. One day you will feast in the den of a beast, the dark one called L'Kal.
She listened more intently to the story. Apparently after L'Kal had begun expanding his empire, three small nations banded together in an attempt to stop him. The resulting war wrought havoc on the world, and L'Kal was constantly gaining more power.
"Ze rresistance cannot stop him alone; it is too weak. Zere is only one zing zat can stop him. It's called ze Amulet of Life. I'm its Guardian." She reached into her robes, producing a small gold disk about the size of Rogue's palm. A jewel-encrusted star glittered on it's front.
"Vait, I'm confused," Kurt said, scratching his head with his tail. "If you have the Amulet, vhy not use it?"
"Because I can't." She turned the Amulet over, showing them the words written there. "It says, 'And a Saviorr will come who can weild ze Starr, driving Evil into ze shadows.' Only ze Saviorr has ze power to control ze Amulet. I simply protect it until ze Saviorr comes to claim it."
"That's why you're here," Rogue said suddenly. The words of the prophecy kept flashing through her mind. "You're looking for the Saviorr."
"Yes."
Rogue took a deep breath. She was about to violate about a dozen federal laws, but if she was right…She began to recite the prophecy.
"A traveler's path through the land of wrath
Can lead to a heart that's numb
Where children's tears are met with leers
Lies a land that's known to some
Where war is life, and a soldier's knife
Draws blood without a care
From a land apart with a hero's heart
Comes the one with the cloud-framed hair
The heart was torn, and the mind forlorn
When they came to take the Star
Hurled to her fate through a swirling gate
To this, a land afar
For you she came, though you have no name
This war shall be fought for all
One day you will feast in the den of a beast
The dark one called L'Kal."
The room was silent. Everyone stared at her, dumbfounded. Jennsen finally broke the silence.
"Zat is a verry old prophecy, nearrly a thousand yearrs old. How do you know it?"
"Mir sun de Asierre. I am the Savior."
How's that for an ending?! You better like it; I redid it enough times. *sigh* Perfection is so hard to keep up with. ^_-
OK, a quick note about the story passage: that was an excerpt from a book I just finished reading. That was where I got the idea for Rogue's control, so I figured that was where SHE should get the idea. It's an awesome book…er, series, I should say. Wizard's First Rule is book one. I highly recommend it. = P
OK, on to those lovely reviews that I forgot all about last time! (Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that!) OH! And before I forget, check out the very last quote on my bio, 'Joan's cheerleader burn.' It rocks, majorly.
OK, NOW onto the reviews!
Rogue77: Nope, never played Primal! And don't feel too left out; there's only one person who's even come close to figuring out the statue.
blackDIAMONDdrop: Gandalf and Arwen? Really? Cool. Wrong, but still very cool. So, uh, did this chapter beat the last one, or am I going downhill?
Pixie Flyer: No, sorry. Good guess, though.
The Last Ronin: See, I updated! And congrats on coming closer than anyone else to solving the mystery of the statue. ^_^
Winter Fire: Yeah, the beginning DID suck a little, didn't it? But in my defense the story did start as a note written during science class, which left lots of room for improvement. I'm happy you like it, and even happier that you're willing to give me an honest opinion.
Ishandahalf: I got a surprise for ya. You ready? OK, here it is: you're in the next chapter of Shameless Spies. And FINING NEMO IS AWESOME!!! RIGHTEOUS!! RIGHTEOUS!!!
Rogue151: Of COURSE I still watch Alias!! What lame-O freak doesn't??? Well, OK, I did miss some of last episode, but a friend taped it and is gonna let me borrow it, so it's all good. ^_^ Return of the King is very cool, btw. Eowyn is my hero. ^_-
OK, I THINK that's all of 'em…the reviews are kinda screwy, so if I missed any, I apologize.
You may now go back to your dull, pathetic lives. ^_-